Category Archives: Pasta

Dom’s Ultimate Steak and Onions Recipe | Robertiulo.com

Pasta con Sarde

Sicilian cuisine, with its rich flavors and unique combinations, has a captivating way of bringing tradition to the modern table. One such dish that embodies the spirit of Sicily is Pasta Con Sarde. However, while the traditional recipe demands meticulous preparation, we present a shortcut version that retains the authentic taste with a fraction of the effort – the Facile Pasta con Sarde.

A Culinary Adventure Begins: Unraveling the Ingredients

In the heart of this Sicilian delicacy lies a carefully curated list of ingredients that dance harmoniously on the palate. To embark on this culinary journey, gather the following:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt, black, and red pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 can sardines packed in olive oil
  • 1 ½ lbs. ripe tomatoes
  • ½ pound long pasta

A Symphony of Flavors: Crafting the Facile Pasta con Sarde

The beauty of this simplified version lies not only in its ease of preparation but also in its ability to encapsulate the essence of the traditional dish.

Grate the Tomatoes:

Begin by grating the tomatoes using the large holes of a box grater. This step unlocks the vibrant flavors of the tomatoes, infusing the dish with a freshness that is characteristic of Sicilian cuisine.

Sauté and Simmer:

Heat a pot with olive oil over low flame and sauté the sliced garlic until it releases its aromatic essence. Season with salt and pepper before introducing the star of the dish – Pasta con Sarde. Break them up in the pot, allowing the amalgamation of flavors as they simmer for a tantalizing five minutes.

Tomato Infusion:

Introduce the grated tomatoes to the pot, setting the stage for a flavor explosion. Bring the concoction to a gentle boil, then lower the heat, letting it simmer for an indulgent 30 minutes. This slow-cooking process allows the ingredients to intertwine, creating a symphony of taste that defines Pasta Con Sarde.

Pasta Alchemy:

Meanwhile, in a separate pot of salted water, cook the long pasta until it’s almost done. The magic happens when you transfer it to the simmering sauce, allowing the pasta to absorb the rich flavors as it finishes cooking. This technique ensures that every strand is a carrier of the distinct taste of Sicily.

Embracing Tradition: The No-Cheese Rule and Artful Garnishes

As we delve deeper into the authenticity of Pasta Con Sarde, it’s crucial to note the culinary traditions upheld by this Sicilian masterpiece. In staying true to its roots, this dish vehemently rejects the addition of cheese. However, fear not, as a sprinkle of toasted breadcrumbs or a garnish of chopped parsley proves to be the perfect finishing touch.

A Visual Feast: Serving and Presentation

The true allure of Sicilian cuisine lies not only in its taste but also in its visual appeal. Present your Facile Pasta con Sarde with a touch of finesse – perhaps on a rustic plate or a bed of fresh fennel fronds. The vibrant colors and textures will not only satisfy your taste buds but also elevate the dining experienc

Conclusion

In the creation of Facile Pasta con Sarde, we’ve successfully condensed the intricate steps of the traditional recipe without compromising on the richness of flavors. This shortcut version serves as a testament to the adaptability of Sicilian cuisine, allowing you to savor a taste of Italy’s culinary heritage without an extensive time commitment.

As we conclude our exploration into the world of Pasta Con Sarde, it’s evident that simplicity does not equate to a lack of depth in flavor. Rather, it’s a celebration of the artistry behind crafting a dish that captures the spirit of Sicily in every bite. So, set your table, savor the moment, and let the Facile Pasta con Sarde be your gateway to the enchanting world of Sicilian gastronomy. Buon Appetito!

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Mediterranean Delight: Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks Recipe

Tomato Sauce with Rusks Recipe

Embark on a culinary journey with a delightful Mediterranean recipe – Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks. Inspired by a Greek friend, this dish brings together the vibrant flavors of ripe tomatoes, fragrant olive oil, and the unique crunch of rusks. Contrary to popular belief, rusks are not a vegetable but rather dry, hard biscuits or twice-baked bread, lending a distinctive texture to this dish. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the simple steps of creating this quick and flavorful sauce that pairs perfectly with pasta.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

Ingredients:

  • 4 or 5 ripe tomatoes
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves sliced garlic
  • Salt, black pepper, and red pepper
  • 1-2 cups crumbled rusks
  • 1/2 lb. pasta

Prepare the Pasta

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. The sauce is quick to make, ensuring it’ll be ready by the time the pasta is cooked to perfection.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

Grate the Tomatoes

Using the large side of a box grater, grate the ripe tomatoes and set aside. This step releases the juicy essence of the tomatoes, adding a fresh and vibrant element to the sauce.

Sauté the Aromatics

In a large pot, sauté the sliced garlic in olive oil until it starts to develop a golden hue. This aromatic base sets the stage for the rich flavors that will infuse the sauce.

Create the Tomato Base

Add the grated tomatoes to the pot, incorporating salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, letting some of the liquid evaporate and the sauce thicken.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

Cook Pasta and Combine

As the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in the salted water until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Once almost done, transfer the pasta to the sauce to finish cooking, allowing the flavors to meld.

Crush the Rusks

Using a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a small frying pan on a cutting board, crush the rusks to yield approximately one cup of crumbles. This step introduces a unique crunch to the dish, reminiscent of grated cheese.

Serve and Enjoy

Plate the pasta with the tomato sauce and sprinkle the crushed rusks on top. Serve this Mediterranean masterpiece, offering the rusks as a delightful alternative to traditional cheese.

Indulge in the rich flavors of the Mediterranean with this Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks recipe. Whether you’re a seasoned home chef or a culinary enthusiast, this dish promises a delightful blend of textures and tastes that will transport you to the sun-soaked shores of the Mediterranean. Share this culinary adventure with friends and family, and savor the essence of a Mediterranean feast in the comfort of your own home.Ready to savor the Mediterranean Delight? Have questions or want to share your experience? Contact us for culinary delights

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Roasted Poblano Pasta

Roasted Poblano Pasta

This recipe is adapted from Gretchen McKay | The Seattle Times.  She calls Roasted Poblano Pasta a “an Italian-meets-Mexican fusion dish,” and I agree. 
Roasted Poblano Pasta
Ingredients:
  • 5 poblano peppers
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
  • 12 ounces fettuccine pasta
  • ½ cup packed parsley
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream, divided
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • Pinch or two crushed red pepper flakes optional
Char poblano peppers on all sides over a gas flame until skin is blistered evenly all around. (If you don’t have a gas stove, char them under the broiler.) Once all of the peppers are roasted, place in plastic bag and let them sit for 5 minutes. This helps loosen the skin to make them easier to peel. When they’re cool to touch, rub the charred skin off with the back side of a knife blade. Remove stem and seeds.

Roasted Poblano Pasta

Roasted Poblano PastaWhile the peppers are sweating, bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about ½ to 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. Set aside.
While pasta is cooking, add 3 peppers, parsley, cumin, garlic, chicken stock and ½ cup heavy cream to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Slice 2 remaining peppers into thin strips.
Once drained, add the poblano cream sauce to the pasta, along with the remaining heavy cream, minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes. Sometimes poblanos can be very hot, so taste before adding any more pepper. Taste and add more salt or cumin, if desired. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until slightly thickened and the pasta absorbs some sauce, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the sliced peppers and cook until pasta has absorbed sauce. Stir to combine and give one final taste to see if you need more salt and/or pepper.Roasted Poblano Pasta

 

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Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs

Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs

Here’s another recipe adapted from Melissa Clark at the New York Times, Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs. She never lets me down. I used Progresso Plain Breadcrumbs for this dish and Melissa made her own. Make them is you have time.
Ingredients:
  • 2 large eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
  • Salt, black, and red pepper
  • ½ pound short pasta, such as shells or orecchiette
  • ½ cup olive oil plus as much as needed to fry the eggplant, plus more for drizzling
  • 12 anchovies, coarsely chopped
  • 8 garlic cloves, 3 grated or finely minced, 5 thinly sliced
  • 1 cup plain Italian breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 1 cup torn parsley
  • Juice of ½ lemon

Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs

Place the cut eggplant on some paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt. Wait 15 minutes and blot the moisture.
Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.
Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large pan. Add about a quarter of the chopped anchovies and all of the grated garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Stir in breadcrumbs and sauté until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with black pepper and salt. Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.
Wipe out skillet and add ¼ cup olive oil and put it back over medium-high heat until oil thins out in the pan. Add enough eggplant to fit in one layer without overlapping. Without moving them around too much, cook eggplant until brown on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir and let them cook on the other side until browned and thoroughly soft, 3 to 7 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer eggplant to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil to the pan as needed.Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs
Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and stir in remaining anchovies, the sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat and don’t let the garlic turn brown.
Stir in tomatoes and capers. Cook until tomatoes just begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggplant, pasta and ¼ cup pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water if it looks dry.
Stir in the parsley. Squeeze half a lemon all over the pasta and toss. Taste and add more red-pepper flakes, salt or lemon juice to taste. Generously sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of pasta and serve.

Pasta with Eggplant and Breadcrumbs

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Pasta al Pomodoro Light

Pasta al Pomodoro Light

Pasta al Pomodoro Light is adapted from an Eric Kim’s recipe in the New York Times. This sauce is delicate and subtle. Its appearance is very plain although very tasty. You can dress it up with a sprinkle of parsley and some grated Parmigiana cheese if you’d like.

Pasta al Pomodoro Light

Ingredients:
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 3 lbs. plumb tomatoes roughly chopped
  • Salt and black pepper.
  • 1 lb. spaghetti
Lightly sauté the sliced garlic for 5 minutes in a large pot. Don’t brown it. Add the tomatoes and raise the heat to medium high. Stir until the tomatoes start to release their liquid and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.Pasta al Pomodoro Light

Put the cooked tomatoes a few spoons at a time into a sieve over a bowl. Force them through with the back of a wooden spoon. You should have about 2 plus cups of sauce. Discard the tomato skins, seeds, and garlic. Pasta al Pomodoro Light

Pasta al Pomodoro Light


Leave whatever liquid is left in the pot and add enough salted water to cook the pasta. Pasta al Pomodoro Light
When the pasta is almost done drain the water and add the tomato sauce. Cook for another few minutes, tossing until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb more sauce.
Serve with parsley and grated Parmigiana.

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Basic Bolognese

Basic Bolognese

Different people make Bolognese differently. My recipe is for basic Bolognese. I don’t used any garlic because the sofrito (carrot, onion, celery) is enough for the aromatics. Some people use pancetta, but with a mix of pork and beef it isn’t necessary. Often recipes call for chicken or beef stock but that’s not needed with a pound of chopped meat already in the sauce. Don’t be tempted to add and basil, oregano, bay leaf or any other herbs or spices. They’re not needed. On American menus you sometimes see “Spaghetti a la Bolognese.” Spaghetti should never be served with Bolognese sauce, only broad long pasta like mafalda, pappardelle, tagliatelle, fettuccine, and sometimes rigatoni.
Basic BologneseIngredients:
  • 1 diced carrot
  • 1 diced medium onion
  • 2 diced celery stalks
  • Olive oil
  • ½ lb. each – beef and pork
  • 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup dry white or red wine
  • salt & black pepper to taste
Basic Bolognese
Basic BologneseDice the onion, carrot, and celery. That’s the sofrito, the base for many Italian sauces. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the sofrito to a bowl and set aside.

Basic BologneseAdd 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and brown the meat, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks. Return the sofrito to the pot. It’s fine if some of the meat is still a little pink.

Basic BologneseNow add the wine and deglaze the pot. Stir and cook for 5 minutes and then pour in the crushed tomatoes and 2 cups of hot water. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 2 hours. If the sauce gets too thick as it simmers add more water. While the sauce is simmering, start a pot of boiling water for the pasta. I’m using fettuccine. Drain the pasta when it’s done and save a cup of the pasta water.

Basic BologneseTo serve, put a sauté pan on low heat. Put some of the sauce in the pan, add some pasta, and stir with a little pasta water. Place in a dish and sprinkle with Parmigiana cheese.

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Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes

This is a simple and quick recipe similar to aglio e olio. You can make the sauce in the time it takes to cook the pasta. Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes has a fresh light taste so I wouldn’t recommend any cheese on this one.
Spaghetti with Cherry TomatoesIngredients:
  • 1 lb. spaghetti
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • Salt, black pepper
  • Red pepper (from a pinch to a tablespoon)
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
Start a pot of water for the pasta and begin to cook the pasta.
Spaghetti with Cherry TomatoesSlowly cook the garlic in the oil in a large frying pan. Add the seasoning (salt, black and red pepper) and the parsley. Stir and then add the tomatoes (half of them cut in half). Cook over a medium heat until the pasta is almost done.

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes

Add a cup of the pasta water to the sauce and then add the almost cooked pasta to finish cooking. Add additional water as necessary to keep it moist. Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes
Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes

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Spaghetti Spoon

Alberto Sordi in An American in Rome, 1954.  Spaghetti Spoon


 

 

I can’t remember how old I was when I first ate spaghetti with a fork and spoon.  I learned that technique because I grew up in America.  If I’d have grown up in Italy, I wouldn’t have been able to use the spoon because it’s considered poor etiquette.  Either way, it doesn’t matter much to me how you eat it as long as you don’t cut it with a knife.
Spaghetti Spoon

 

ITALIAN CURIOSITIES: SHOULD YOU OR SHOULD YOU NOT USE A SPOON TO EAT SPAGHETTI?

You know Italians are passionate, sometimes even too much. You just need to look at them when it comes to soccer. In the kitchen, if there is something likely to start up a heated discussion around the table – besides soccer, of course – it must be the way you eat your spaghetti (and long pasta in general) . . .

See the full spaghetti spoon article here:

Spaghetti Spoon

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Roasted Broccoli Pasta

Roasted Broccoli Pasta

I know that lots of people don’t like broccoli and this recipe is for them. Roasting it gives it a crisp flavor that makes the difference. This is adapted from Melissa Clark’s recipe in the New York Times.
Roasted Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients:
  • 2 ½ lbs. broccoli cut into bite sized florets
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil plus more for drizzling
  • Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes
  • 12 oz. small pasta
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp. lemon zest
  • 12 oz. whole milk ricotta
Pre-heat your over to 425o.
Roasted Broccoli Pasta
In a bowl, toss the broccoli, 2 tbsp. oil, salt, black, and red pepper. Place it in a large sheet pan and roast for about 10 minutes, toss and roast for another 10 minutes until edges start to lightly brown. Remove, set aside, and set the over to broil.
Cook the pasta according to package instruction, drain and set aside.
Mix together the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
In the large bowl, mix together the broccoli, cooked pasta, and ricotta. Add the Parmesan mix and combine.Roasted Broccoli Pasta
Spread the pasta and broccoli evenly in the sheet pan, drizzle with oil and broil for 2 to 4 minutes until pasta is lightly crisped and serve.Roasted Broccoli Pasta

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Baked Ditalini

BAKED DITALINI

 

This baked ditalini (Budino di Ditalini) is adapted from Lydia Bastianich’s recipe.

 

Ditale in Italian means “thimble,” and hence the name of this delightful little tubular pasta. It is great in soups, but even better when baked. This dish is like a pasta pudding—a savory dish with all the luxury of dessert.

– Lydia

 

Baked Ditalini
Ingredients:
  • 1 tsp. butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp. dried breadcrumbs
  • ½ tsp. salt, plus more for the pot
  • 1 lb. ditalini
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
  • 1½ cups grated Parmigiano
Preheat the oven to 350o and butter a 4 quart rectangular baking dish. Coat it with the breadcrumbs, tapping out any excess.
Baked Ditalini

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the ditalini, and cook until al dente, drain and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and salt. Add the cream and milk slowly and whisk until smooth. Stir in the pasta, peas, and 1 cup of the grated cheese. Baked Ditalini


Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with the remaining half cup of grated cheese. Bake until the custard is set about 35 – 40 minutes. Let rest about 10 minutes before serving.Baked Ditalini

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